10th: Dead Snow II: Red vs Dead
This is a sequel to the 2009 Norwegian zombie horror-comedy flick; about a group of students attacked by Nazi zombies, in the Norwegian mountains. The sole survivor, of that film, is now trying to defend a Norwegian town; from annihilation, by the Nazi zombies. It was once again directed by Tommy Wirkola and written by Wirkola, Stig Frode Henriksen and Vegar Hoel. Hoel and Henriksen also once again star in the movie and this time they’re joined by Martin Starr, Ingrid Haas, Jocelyn DeBoer, Hallvard Holmen, Kristoffer Joner, Amrita Acharia, Derek Mears and Orjan Garnst (reprising his role as Colonel Herzog.
Plot
Picking up right where the first film left off; Martin (Hoel) is still on the run from the Nazi zombies, and he crashes his car in the mountains. He ends up in a hospital where a doctor replaces his amputated arm, that he sawed off in the first film (to stop a zombie infection), with the undead arm of Colonel Herzog (Garnst). He can’t control the arm, at first, and it murders several people.
He later learns that he has special zombie powers, thanks to his new zombie arm. He also learns that Herzog, and his army of undead Nazis, plan on destroying a town; as part of a 70-year-old assignment, given to them by Hitler. Martin finds help from a WWII museum employee, named Glenn (Henriksen), and three American siblings; calling themselves the ‘Zombie Squad’. They’re lead by a nerd named Daniel (Starr).
So Much Fun
The movie is full of excessive and extremely grotesque zombie violence; it’s definitely not a film for everyone, but it’s also full of really funny light-hearted humor. The action scenes are so much fun and the characters are all likable and mostly relatable (in an exaggerated way).
The additions of Star and Holmen, to the cast, are brilliant and there’s a classic zombie sidekick character (Joner) as well. Hoel is also, once again, outstanding in the lead and Wirkola’s directing is perfect. It’s sure to become a cult classic, like the original, and its also highly reminiscent of “Evil Dead II”; which is a good thing.
9th: Zombeavers
This is zombie flick spoof about a group of college kids, staying at a cabin on the river, who are attacked by killer zombie beavers. The film was directed and co-written (with Al Kaplan and Jon Kaplan) by comedy writer and actor, turned first time feature filmmaker, Jordan Rubin. The movie stars three lovely ladies; named Cortney Palm, Rachel Melvin and Lexi Atkins. It also costars Hutch Dano, Jake Weary, Peter Gilroy and Rex Linn; and it features cameos by Bill Burr, John Mayer and Brent Briscoe. The movie is pretty much exactly what it sounds like; I had a great time!
The Story
Palm, Melvin and Atkins play three young college students (named Zoe, Mary and Jenn), that decide to get away for the weekend; by staying at a cabin on the river, in the small town of Ashwood. Jenn’s boyfriend, Sam (Dano), recently cheated on her; so her friends are trying to help her get over him.
That becomes pretty hard to do when Sam shows up at the cabin, with his buddies Tommy (Weary) and Buck (Gilroy); who are also Mary and Zoe’s boyfriends. A lot of drinking and sex follows, of course, until things become more complicated; when they’re attacked by mutated zombie beavers, from a dam on the river.
Pleasantly Surprising
The film is actually a pretty good (and mostly traditional) zombie slasher flick; it goes through all the usual (and routine) B-horror flick clichés (and it does a pretty good job at it). It’s also a great comedy and zombie movie spoof though; so fans of both genres get what they crave (and are expecting). I love movies like this and, I’m happy to say, I was also pleasantly surprised by it.
I think Rubin did a great job directing the movie and he, and his co-writers, also did an excellent job writing the script (it’s clever and a lot of fun). The animatronic zombie beavers look great, and the actors are all more than adequate in their roles; we especially like Palm’s performance (she’s also super hot in it). The film is about as much fun as you can expect, from a movie called ‘ZOMBEAVERS’!
8th: Dead Snow
“Dead Snow” is a Norwegian zombie film where seven friends head into the mountains for a weekend of… oh, it doesn’t matter why, only that they encounter some pretty nasty zombies – and Nazi zombies to be more specific (so I guess that makes them doubly nasty?).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55uGN58UOkk
Hour and a Half’s Enjoyment
The one thing you should know about Dead Snow is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Think of it as more of a horror comedy than anything that will really scare you. So, the blood flows, the body parts fly, the pretty girls scream in terror – what more do you want? Oh, and as I mentioned, there are subtitles. If that’s a turn off for you, you better know before you watch. However, the song near the end of the film during one of the craziest and amusing slaughters ever captured on film if definitely better sung in the film’s native tongue than English.
If you like daft, if you like zombies,and if you like blood, then you should definitely get an hour and a half’s enjoyment out of this.
Overall
We loved the overall directing and how the movie was written. It also has some references to other horror movies, mostly Evil Dead and Braindead. It’s a fun zombie flick. Characters are kind of odd, and that’s why we like how it was written. The order in which main characters are dying is kind of random. You don’t have the annoying guy die first; you have him becoming the hero. I liked that for a change. As long as the zombie part goes, you get to see zombies using weapons and tools, and at one point they become aggressive, to get their hands on some treasures.
Overall, it was a good movie from Norway. I hope we will see more of its kind.
7th: Idle Hands
Although the movie was made in 1999 we still regard it a modern comedy horror. Now that we have cleared that, shall we begin ?
The Story
Idle Hands stars Devon Sawa as teenage pot-head Anton, whose chilled lifestyle has made him the perfect host for a demon that—as druidic Priestess Debi LeCure (Vivica A. Fox) puts it—“possesses the laziest f**k-up it can find”. With his right hand under the demon’s control, Anton is unknowingly responsible for a spate of murders in his local neighborhood (including those of his own parents).
After slaughtering fellow stoners Mick (Seth Green) and Pnub (Elden Henson), who come back as zombies having been too lazy to walk into the light, Anton finally realises that he is the killer and tries to end the problem by cutting off the demonic appendage. But his troubles have only just started, the severed hand going on a killing spree, its ultimate target: Molly (Jessica Alba), the girl of Anton’s dreams.
Funniest Stoner Horror
Idle Hands is probably our favourite ‘possessed hand’ movie (confession time: I prefer this film to “Evil Dead II”); it is also the funniest stoner horror/comedy that I have seen, although given that the only other examples I can recall are the Scary Movie series, that’s not surprising.
Not only does the film boast a very likable cast (and in the case of Alba, very lickable), but it also benefits from lots of well-executed splatter (including death by rotary saw blade, knitting needles, beer bottle, and ventilation fan), a sharp script that delivers plenty of laughs and quotable one-liners (“I needs me spinach”), an excellent rock soundtrack (punk band the Offspring even have a cameo, lead singer Dexter Holland having his scalp pulled off by the murderous hand), and an unforgettable finale that features a stoned hand-puppet and Jessica Alba in her underwear.
We recommend that you watch this movie on Halloween or 4/20 day, if you know what we mean. (Blaze da bong)